Blue Ridge Barbecue Festival Report

Friday night was overcast, which kept the crowds down from previous years. The smell of hickory wood was thick in the air, and the colorful displays of the competition teams made for an inviting visual pallette. As I, PyroMan, PyroWife and the PyroKids strolled through the competition cookers from all over the nation, only one thought bounced around in my mind: Where's Bill Milroy?

You may have heard of the Texas Rib Rangers, the world-famous cooking team from Denton, Texas. Lead by the venerable Bill Milroy and wife Barbara, the Rangers are a barbecue force from coast to coast. When I caught up with my old friend Bill, It was as though we had seen each other yesterday, and were just picking up where we left off in conversation...

After feeding the family on Bill's famous ribs, I checked out the Rib Rangers' new cooking rig, which Bill had made from the two rotisserie grills from his old restaurant in Denton. It was amazing! The Rib Rangers can put out huge amounts of some melt-in-your-mouth barbecue with amazing consistancy.

I got the pleasure of watching Bill dress out a whole pig using his special blend of herbs and spices, and then throwing it in the cooker. It was neat to catch up with the Milroys. Bill and Barbara are heading up to Delaware this week to do some TV commercials with Chip Hearn of Peppers and Page Skelton of Cackalacky.

Speaking of Page Skelton, our buddy from Chapel Hill, North Carolina did well at the competition, finishing 8th overall in a field of 83 teams from all over the nation. He even beat out the famous JohnBoy and Billy Competition Team, from the nationally syndicated radio program, who finished 9th overall. Good job Page!

If you are ever in the lovely foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in early june, make your way to Tryon for the greatest barbecue experience that you can "put a lip to".